Human Rights in Ukraine

Prevention of torture and cruel treatment

The center of the professional aid to the victims of torture was created in the framework of the project “Campaign against torture and cruel treatment”. The center is financially supported by the European Commission. The center, which was founded by the Kharkov group for human rights protection in summer 2003, will work for next three years.

One of the tasks of the Center is the financing (full or partial) of legal, medical and expert aid to the victims of torture, other forms of cruel treatment and violations of the right for liberty and personal immunity.

Criteria of rendering the financial aid

I. Categories of the cases, when the financial aid is rendered

The Center renders the financial aid for remuneration of the services of advocates, medical doctors or experts in the following cases:

I.1. Torture:

– application of torture and other forms of cruel treatment for obtaining evidence or other information during investigation;

– disappearance of a person with the probable participation of law-enforcing or other state organs;

– application of inadequate violence by state officers during the detention, arrest or investigation;

– efficient legal representation in the course of judicial procedures,

– provision of proofs.

In the course of consideration of the question about rendering the financial aid we take into account:

- gravity of bodily injuries, duration of the application of torture and cruel treatment;

- probability of positive result of the case: availability of proofs, timeliness of the appeal, absence of the obstacles for using the national and international procedures (observance of procedural terms, order, etc.);

- strategic meaning of the case: complex of several serious violations, frequency of the considered kind of violation, meaning of the case for other goals of the Project;

- financial ability of the Fund;

- participation of the victim in the compensation of the expenses.

I.2. Violations of the right for liberty:

- illegal detention (criminal-procedural or administrative), ungrounded detention, detention with the violation of legal procedure or with an illegal purpose;

- holding in custody without taking to court for more than 72 hours;

- too long stay in custody during the pre-trial investigation and court consideration;

- violations of the rights of the detained (arrested) during the court consideration of the question about the arrest or release.

Financial aid is rendered for:

- initiation of criminal persecution of the workers of law-enforcing organs involved in the violation of the right for liberty;

- institution of civil cases against the guilty and/or the corresponding organs;

- initiation of regular checks of the legality of holding in custody;

- efficient legal representation during the court consideration of the question about the arrest or release and in other judicial procedures;

– provision of proofs.

In the course of consideration of the question about rendering the financial aid we take into account:

- gravity of consequences: application of torture in custody, duration of the incarceration under the guard of law-enforcing organs, total term of incarceration;

- probability of positive result of the case: availability of proofs, existence of the circumstances confirming the groundlessness of holding in custody, timeliness of the appeal;

- strategic meaning of the case: complex of several serious violations, frequency of the considered kind of violation, meaning of the case for other goals of the Project;

- financial ability of the Fund;

- participation of the victim in the compensation of the expenses.

II. Categories of the cases, in which the Center does not render the financial aid

The Center deals with the cases connected with the activities (passivity) of state organs.

Therefore, the Center does not render the financial aid in the following cases:

- conflicts between private persons;

- conflicts that are not connected with deprivation of liberty or application of violence on the side of state officials;

- defense from the accusation, except the cases, when this defense is an integral part of the protection against torture (for example, if the accusation is based on evidence obtained as a result of torture).